Valve plate motor pump



July 8, 1969 A. E. HEINRICH VALVE PLATE MOTOR PUMP Sheet Filed Aug. 29, 1966 INVENTOR ALLAN E HEINRICH BY ATTORNEYS July 8, 1969 E. HElNRlCH 3,453,965

VALVE PLATE MOTOR PUMP Filed Aug. 29, 1966 Sheet 3 er 2 FIG. 4 INVENTOR ALLAN E. HEINRICH FYMW ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,453,965 VALVE PLATE MOTOR PUMP Allan E. Heinrich, Oconomowoc, Wis., assignor to Applied Power Industries, Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Aug. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 575,711 Int. Cl. F041) 1/02 U.S. Cl. 103-162 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A fluid translating device of the coaxial type wherein one end of the barrel of said translator is formed with a frusto-conical surface, the angular amplitude thereof with respect to the axis of the shaft approximating the angular amplitude the inclined surface makes with the axis, a valve plate between the other end of the barrel and the valve block and having a plurality of openings therein, a plurality of hollow sleeve members extending between the bores and said openings and means for simultaneously biasing the sleeves toward the valve plate and the block.

This invention relates to a fluid power translator and more particularly relates to a fluid translating device having a valve plate between the operating plungers and the fluid inlet and outlet and is equipped with means for maintaining the plungers in engagement with a cam plate during the relative rotation between the cam plate and the barrel. The translator is of the type, that with a reversal of fluid, acts as either a motor or a pump.

In general the invention comprehends within its scope an apparatus including a housing, a cylindrical barrel rotatably received within the housing, a plurality of plungers within the barrel at equal distances from the axis of rotation, a stationary end plate or block at one end of the housing for the ingress and egress of fluid, an inclined cam surface at the other end of the housing causing reciprocation of the plungers and a valve plate disposed between the stationary valve block and the barrel.

In apparatus of this nature it is desirable to have a rather loose sliding or floating relationship between the valve plate and the face of the barrel while having means to maintain plungers against the inclined cam surface. A principal objective of this invention is in the provision of a floating valve plate between the barrel and the stationary valve block in which novel connecting means are used between the floating plate and the plunger cylinders for reducing fluid leakage and increasing the smoothness of operation under varying conditions of load and speed.

A further important objective of this invention is to provide a novel keeper ring which engages conventional slippers of the type used with spherical-headed plungers and which reduces wear between itself and the slippers. This objective is attained by lining the openings of the keeper with Teflon inserts to thereby space the steel keeper ring from the softer alloy of the slippers.

Another important objective of this invention is to provide a barrel in a pump of this nature having a frustoconical surface which engages the keeper ring, which in turn, aids in maintaining the slippers in engagement with the camming surface.

A still further important objective of this invention is 3,453,965 Patented July 8, 1969 to provide a novel connecting sleeve between the end of the barrel and the valve plate. This novel connecting means is comprised of floating sleeves which have tapered surfaces, which in cooperation with an annular resilient ring, will bias the sleeves toward the valve plate.

These and other important objectives and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the translator showing the working parts thereof;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line 3--3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlargement of a portion of FIGURE 1; and,

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view of one insert.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are indicated by like numerals, the housing of the translator is indicated by the numeral 10. One end of the housing is enclosed by an integral end plate or valve block 12 which is secured thereon by a plurality of bolts 13. The housing 10 provides a chamber 14 in which a shaft 16 is rotatably mounted. A barrel 18 is mounted on the shaft 16 and is formed with a plurality of parallel bores or cylinders 20 at equal radial distances from the center of the barrel. Reciprocally received in each of the bores 20 are pumping plungers 22.

Plungers 22 are hollowed at 24 and are formed with spherical heads 26 at the outer ends thereof. The spherical heads 26 are formed with passageways 27 therethrough which are in communication with the hollow interiors 24. Pivotally sec red to each of the spherical heads are a plurality of substantially cylindrical. slippers 28. The slippers 28 are formed with spherical depressions 29 in one end for pivotally receiving the heads 26 and have enlarged flange portions 30 formed at the other end. The slipper 28 is constructed of brass, bronze or other relatively soft alloys so as not to soar the steel cam plate 34. A steel keeper ring 31 is formed with a plurality of axial grooves 32 on its inner circumference and is received on each of the slippers 28. Each groove 32 is lined with a plastic insert 33 which engages the slipper 28. Prior to this invention, the slipper oftentimes became scarred and worn by its steel keeper ring. The plastic inserts 33 have cylindrical portions 36 which are of greater diameter than the depth of the grooves 32 and hence separate the inner circumferential wall of the keeper 31 from the slipper 28. The inserts 33 also have bottom and top flanges 37 and 39 respectively. The bottom flanges 37 serve to separate the keeper from the slipper While the top flanges 39 which are tapered at 40 permit easy emplacement of the inserts 33 into the grooves 32.

Barrel 18 is centrally bored at 42 to receive the driven shaft 16. The interior of the barrel and the exterior of the shaft are splined at 44 to ensure their rotation as a unit while permitting some longitudinal movement. The shaft 16 is rotatably mounted with respect to the housing and to the cam 36 by way of a high-capacity, cylindrical roller bearing unit 45. The cam 36 is affixed to housing 10 by several bolts 46.

A floating valve plate 50 is interposed between the inner end surface 59 of barrel 18 and the end plate 12. A plurality of sleeves 53 communicates the interior of bores 20 successively with the ingress and egress slots 51 and 52 of end plate 14 through the openings 55 in the stationary valve plate 50 as the barrel rotates. Cylindrical first ends of each of the sleeve members 53 are received within the outer ends of bores 20 and second flared ends 54 engage the valve plate 50.

The barrel at its cam plate end is terminated by a frustoconical surface 47 which, at its line of engagement with the keeper ring 31, is parallel to the cam surface 36. With this construction, the barrel surface 47 acts as a keeper ring retainer means. An arcuate lug 48 formed interiorly of the housing and having a surface 49, also parallel to the cam plate surface acts as an additional keeper ring retainer.

About the flared end 54 of each sleeve 53 is an annular biasing member 57 having an inner circumference approximately the same as the outer circumference of its sleeve. The member 57 is disposed between the end 59 of the barrel and the outer surface of the flare 54, as a consequence thereof, biases the sleeves 53 toward the valve plate 50.

The end plate 12 is centrally bored at 61. Received within bore 61 is a reduced portion 62 of shaft 44. The shaft is rotatably mounted with respect to the end plate 12 via a second cylindrical bearing 64. The bearing 64 is held in place by a snap ring 66.

In operation, fluid is pressurized in either of the ports 51 or 52. Pressurized fluid is transmitted to the interior of those bores 20 disposed opposite the pressurized port via the floating valve plate 50 and the sleeves 53. As is well understood in the art, the forces thereby exerted cause the plungers 22 to reciprocate against the cam surfaces 33 and cause the barrel 18 and shaft 16 to rotate. As the bores pass out of communication with the pressurized port to communication with the unpressurized port, they exhaust their fluid. The keeper ring 31 holds the slippers in engagement with the cam surface. Also aiding in this function is the surface 47, the arcuate lug 48 and the counter forces developed in compression members 57.

It can be seen that a fluid translator has been described which permits a loose or floating engagement of valve plate 50 with the end plate 12 for transmitting fluid to and from the :bores 20 and at the same time the sleeve member 53 prevents any excess leakage.

When the pump is in operation, the annular biasing members 57 maintain the sleeves toward or in engagement with the valve plate and at the same time urges the barrel against the keeper plate. Since the barrel is formed with a frusto-conical surface, the bias of the annular members 57 aids in maintaining the slippers into engagement with the cam surface. In devices of this type, a certain degree of floating and wobbling is necessary and as a result the keeper plates in the past have had substantial wearing and scarring effect on the slipper shoes. In this invention, however, the keeper plate can be manufactured of a high-grade steel and at the same time be non-abrasive as to the slippers because of the novel plastic inserts.

In a general manner, while there has been disclosed an effective and eflicient embodiment of the invention, it should be Well understood that the invention is not limited to such an embodiment, as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition, and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A fluid translating device comprising a housing, a valve block at one end of said housing having a pressurized arcuate port and a relatively unpressurized arcuate port, a cam having an inclined surface at the other end of said housing and forming a chamber with said valve block, a shaft extending into said chamber, means mounting said shaft for relative rotatable movement with respect to said cam, a barrel in said chamber secured to said shaft, said barrel formed with a plurality of bores .4 parallel to the axis of rotation of said shaft and disposed in the same cylindrical plane as said arcuate ports, a plunger slidably received in each of said bores and formed with a spherical head, a slipper pivotally mounted on each of said heads and having a flat surface toward said cam, an annular keeper ring having a plurality of openings formed therein to respectively receive each of said slippers, said barrel having one end formed with a frusto-conical surface the angular amplitude thereof, with respect to the axis of said shaft, being the same as the angular amplitude said inclined surface makes with said axis, a valve plate between the other end of said barrel and said valve block and having a plurality of openings therein, a plurality of hollow sleeve members extending between said bores and said openings, first means between said barrel and said valve plate for biasing said sleeves toward said valve plate, and second means including said frusto-conical surface of said barrel and said keeper ring for maintaining said flattened surfaces in engagement with said cam.

2. The device recited in claim 1 wherein said first means are comprised of tapered flanges on the exterior surfaces of said sleeves and resilient annular members having an inner circumference approximately the same as the outer circumference of said sleeves and a diameter less than the distances between said flange and said one end of said barrel.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein plastic inserts are disposed in said openings between said slippers and said keeper ring.

4. A fluid translating device including a housing, a valve plate at one end of said housing, a cam plate at the other end of said housing and forming a chamber with said valve plate, a shaft rotatable with respect to said cam plate extending into said chamber, barrel means in said chamber mounted on said shaft for relative rotational and axial movement with said cam plate, said barrel having a plurality of bores circumferentially disposed parallel to the axis of said shaft, a plunger slidably received in each of said bores, said plunger having a head portion extending toward said cam plate, a slipper pivotally secured to said head portion, a keeper ring having a plurality of openings therein for receiving one each of said slippers, a plurality of hollow sleeve members between said barrel means and said valve plate, and means for simultaneously maintaining said barrel means against said cam plate and said sleeve members against said valve plate, and said barrel having one end formed with a frusto-conical surface.

5. A device according to claim 4 wherein said hollow sleeve members extend from within said bores to said valve plate.

6. A device according to claim 4 wherein said sleeve members have an inner portion received in said bores and an outer portion divergently tapered away from said bores.

7. A device according to claim 6 including a resilient annular member received on the inner portion of each of said sleeve members between the outer portion of each of said sleeve members and the other end of said barrel.

8. A fluid translating device including a housing, a valve plate at one end of said housing, a cam plate at the other end of said housing and forming a chamber with said valve plate, a shaft rotatable with respect to said cam plate extending into said chamber, barrel means in said chamber mounted on said shaft for relative rotational and axial movement with said cam plate, said barrel having a plurality of bores circumferentially disposed parallel to the axis of said shaft, a plunger slidably received in each of said bores, said plunger having a head portion extending toward said cam plate, a slipper pivotally secured to said head portion, a keeper ring having a plurality of openings therein for receiving one each of said slippers, a plurality of hollow sleeve members between said barrel means and said valve plate, and

common biasing means for simultaneously biasing said barrel means against said keeper ring and said sleeve members against said valve plate.

UNITED References Cited STATES PATENTS Hulman et al. 103-162 Raymond 103-173 Heinrich et a1. 103-162 Woolfenden.

11/1966 Scott et al 103162 Orarn 10 3-162 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain. Great Britain. Great Britain. Great Britain. 

